What If Punk Never Happened?

Two Sundays ago, The Ricecooker Shop had a small gathering of friends. It was our 2nd Anniversary but unlike the first there was no live punk rock bands blaring on the verandah. It was a quiet affair, unannounced and only mentioned in passing.

And we a had a good one, sitting around a full crate and a bucket of ice. I would like to thanks those who were there, ripping through the delicious cooking by Atia and cheering the shop for its survival.

It may be nothing but it doesn’t feel like nothing because I believe in The Ricecooker Shop, I believe in and love all the friends who helped and are helping out. Lets hope there’ll be another and another and another.

Thank you!

Joe

BTW: Following is a song, a special tune I wanna share with you. This one turned me into a blubbery mess a few days ago. The first time I heard this I can’t contain my joy and sadness, thrown into the emotional and burst into tears.

Viva La PUNK!

What If Punk Never Happened?by The King Blues

[audio:http://thericecookershop.com/mp3_wp_rc/kb_whatif.mp3]

Well on a cold Tuesday morning, I was walking into town,
Had my headphones blaring, didn‚Äôt notice what was around,
I crossed the road, a car swerved and nearly ran me down,
Looked in the driver‚Äôs seat, I swear to God it was Doc Brown,
He said ‚ÄúAre you Michael J Fox?‚Äù I said ‚ÄúNo I‚Äôm Jonny Fox‚Äù,
He said ‚ÄúClose enough, you best get inside,
I‚Äôm taking you with me to see another time,
A place you could only have dreamed in your mind,
An alternative reality situated just outside of Clapham,
So strap yourself in,
Cos where we‚Äôre going you don‚Äôt need roads,
To get to where punk never happened‚Äù

We landed in a concrete desert, rubble as far as the eye could see,
I says to Doc ‚ÄúWhere we goin‚Äô?‚Äù
Doc says he‚Äôs following me,
We found the only building in the city that was left standing,
It was my local venue,
I know cos I recognised the landing,
And there‚Äôs a gig on tonight! This town ain‚Äôt so bad,
I got everything I need, right here in this pad,
So I pulled out a bottle and took a heroic swig,
Made myself comfortable and got ready for the gig,

Well an hour after doors and there was still no-one there,
The soundman was on acid, the fucking long hair,
The bands never showed cos they didn‚Äôt see the point,
When all the kids are at home still smoking a joint,
They won‚Äôt go out and do nothing, not on your nelly,
They‚Äôre just watching the telly and then feeding their belly,
Their parents listen to The Beatles, while they listen to Nirvana,
Cos Green Day and The Pistols, well they never heard either,

They got long sleeve T-shirts and they never shower,
They still believe in flower power,
The hippy dream‚Äôs faded but they got nothing new,
So they wear flares and slippers and burn incense sticks too,
The kids would rather skate than go out and smash the state,
While their parents sit still and meditate,
Action‚Äôs at a low when people just don‚Äôt care,
They zoned out to their surroundings, the anger‚Äôs not there,

And I‚Äôm stuck in this hippy, grunge reality,
Where the buildings are crumbling down from apathy,
They grab you at school when you‚Äôve just turned 13,
And show you your brand new, life long routine,
You can sleep and work, and work and sleep,
So you can save up the money to buy a new jeep,
So you can sleep and work, and work and sleep,
Then sleep. Then work. Then work. Then sleep.

I pulled a fanzine out my back pocket, held it in my hands,
And watched the colours slowly fade away,
The words bled right off of the pages til it had nothing left to say,
I banged on the jukebox but it was useless,
It had no good records on,
Not even something weak like ‚ÄòThe Best Punk Album In The World Ever Volume 1‚Äô,
Outside the windows, I saw the excavators coming to tear the place down,
No-one stopped them, for there is no community left in this town,
There‚Äôs no-one around to fight Margaret Thatcher,
The power of the flower just couldn‚Äôt match her,

Too strong was the will of Parliament to cause damage,
That with no punk rock everything went unchallenged,
Land got knocked down to build more land,
That got knocked down again for a couple more grand,
With no punk the protests were full of throwbacks calling each other comrade,
Of course the young folks‚Äô attendance started to fade,
So it was easy for the police to move in, they were trusted,
And that‚Äôs when the whole damn town got busted,

They moved CCTV cameras in everywhere,
But the people were too apathetic to care,
They made them carry ID cards to state where they‚Äôre from,
As if by being born they had done something wrong,
They shipped all the poor folk to live out in the edges,
So the rich folk could move in and peer over their hedges,‚ÄúBut before you leave, you‚Äôd better build our homes,
There, we‚Äôve done you a favour, now you‚Äôre on your own,
This ain‚Äôt your home no more, go find somewhere new,
I know you ain‚Äôt got the money, cos it‚Äôs me who employs you,
I know everything about you, what you eat, how you dress,
Your hobbies, your turn-ons, your email address,
While I had you working in the dark, you didn‚Äôt realise,
That I completely stopped your ability to organise,
I didn‚Äôt let you have a reason to communicate,
I banned punk rock knowing you hippies would seal your own fate,
I controlled everything you wrote, everything you created,
I distracted you with advertisements so you forgot what you hated,
I fed your dark side, kept you consuming and competing,
And like a dog that doesn‚Äôt know when to stop eating,
You took it all, oh and long was it my intention,
You could have beat me if punk rock was your invention‚Äù,
Instead the city will be sold to the highest bids,
If only Sham 69 had of united the kids,

If only the 4 Skins had told us ACAB,
If only The Ramones had let us know we were a happy family,
If only The Buzzcocks had shown us how to do it ourself,
If only Crass had shown us there are things more important than wealth,
If only The Vandals had shown us it was OK to smile,
If only The Dead Kennedys had helped us put our government on trial,
If only Rancid had played live, and brought with them that vibe,
If we had Sick Of It All and Madball we could put them all on the frontline,

If we had GG Allin we‚Äôd have learned it‚Äôs OK to be hated,
If we‚Äôd have had The Refused then we could have innovated,
If we‚Äôd had Poison Idea then they couldn‚Äôt push us over,
If we‚Äôd had Minor Threat then we could have done it sober,
If we‚Äôd have had Against Me we could have done it all unplugged,
If we‚Äôd had Operation Ivy we could have done it then fucked off,
If we had The Blitz, The Clash, Disorder, Propagandhi,
The Exploited, NOFX and anyone that‚Äôs handy,

There‚Äôs a lesson to be learned, one that I will take home,
When I return to my normal reality zone,
Punk rock has the power to change the world,
It lies in every single punk rock boy and girl,
So don‚Äôt let anyone tell you you‚Äôre not worth the earth,
These streets are your streets, this turf is your turf,
Don‚Äôt let anyone tell you that you‚Äôve got to give in,
Cos you can make a difference, you can change everything,
Just let your dreams be your pilot, your imagination your fuel,
Tear up the book and write your own damn rules,
Use all that heart, hope and soul that you‚Äôve got,
And the love and the rage that you feel in your gut,
And realise that the other world that you‚Äôre always looking for,
Lies right here in front of us, just outside this door,
And it‚Äôs up to you to go out there and paint the canvas,
After all, you were put on the earth to do this,
So shine your light so bright that all can see,
Take pride in being whoever the fuck you want to be,
Throw your fist in the air in solidarity,
And shout ‚ÄúViva la punk, just one life, anarchy‚Äù

hello there.

this is a zine, an archive, a blog, a calendar, a place where words, entities, pixs and happenings came to be chronicled, appraised, documented and consigned to history. gloriously. it's also a shop. was. but that may be an "is" yet again. meanwhile Joe is on his travels; updates may be irregular and minimal. enjoy your stay. terima kasih.